Skip to main content

From My Pen and Power: The Julia Lawrence Hasbrouck Collection

For nearly four decades, Julia Lawrence Hasbrouck diligently kept a diary, using it to chronicle her role and responsibilities as a 19th century wife, mother and daughter. Julia’s meticulous entries, written between 1838 to 1873, reflect her opinions and views of these experiences. Her seventeen diaries, as well as daguerreotypes, portraits, school composition books, piano forte sheet music and two diaries kept by Julia's daughter, comprise The Julia Lawrence Hasbrouck Collection. The chronological scope of Julia's writing paired with her descriptive and personal style, provide a detailed account of private and public life of the early Victorian era as experienced by a white, middle class, northern woman.

Introduction